Sony OLED TV coming next year for $2,000 and up, according to report
Rumor has it that Sony will sell a TV based on OLED display technology, competing against LG for the best image quality available.
The only consumer OLED TV by Sony came out in 2008, had an 11-inch screen and cost $2500.
In 2017 the company will come out with a 55-inch version for $2,000, if a report by Forbes is accurate.
It says Sony will ship OLED TVs in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes during the second half of 2017, with prices of $2,000 and $3,000, respectively. It also says the panels used in the TV will be originally manufactured by LG Display.
The article cites information from the OLED Association, an industry group that includes member companies involved with OLED TV production, including LG Display itself.
When reached by CNET, Sony's representative had no comment.
The reported 2017 Sony OLED prices match those of the least expensive 4K OLED TVs currently available, the LG OLED55B6P and OLED65B6P. They're among CNET's favorite TVs ever, and recently earned an Editors' Choice Award.
Currently LG is the only TV maker to sell OLED-based televisions in the United States, although Panasonic and Philips sell them in Europe.
OLED is a display technology that delivers better picture quality than LED LCD in our tests, thanks to perfect black levels that lead to infinite contrast, wide viewing angles, and other advantages. Although it briefly dabbled in big-screen OLED concept displays (and then dropped them) a few years ago, recently Sony has only used LCD technology, available in models like the high-end Z9D and the more affordable X930D series.
Perhaps Sony will have more information on its OLED TV plans at CES show in January 2017, although the Forbes article speculates that the announcement may come later in the year. We do expect LG to announce its own 2017 OLED TVs there, perhaps including a wallpaper model, although pricing is unlikely to be discussed at the show. Stay tuned.